Dungeon Master's Guide (Valgora Supplement)

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In the forgotten times, after the great war between Heaven and Hell, Vargach altered Valgora and gave dominion over it to the crafty ape he called man. And to each generation was born a creature of light and a creature of darkness. And great armies clashed by night in the ancient war between good and evil. There was magic then, nobility, and unimaginable cruelty. And so it was until the day that a false sun exploded over Sykuin, and man forever traded away wonder for reason.

Any player can roll dice to kill a troll anywhere, but the Dungeons & Dragons game allows for plenty of said action. However, what really brings a game session to life is the Dungeon Master's ability to provide a colorful and enthralling world for the player's to explore. As Dungeon Master, Valgora can meet and exceed all of your party's game needs. The content on this page is designed to assist you in providing a vibrant setting for your players. Before going any further, remember: You're the Dungeon Master! As such, any parts of Valgora you don't like, you can change! Add or alter the world to your whims!

Take a moment and change, delete, or exchange any specifics of the Valgora setting that you prefer before the game begins. Though small changes can be made later (such as minor town names or characters), major changes should be known to your players before beginning, such as deciding to use the standard Greyhawk Pantheon in lieu of Valgora's. If you're a strong planner, come up with some plot hooks, storylines, or characters that you can use to help keep your Player's in action and keep the game moving. Remember, never rely solely on one plot, as PCs should be free to explore the world at random. Some DMs prefer to mostly wing it at the table, and if so, just think of some base ideas to at least get your players talking together and initiate the first encounter. If all goes well, the rest should do itself.

Before the first dice is rolled, a good player should have a character concept. When you begin recruiting for your campaign, you should be able to provide a general background so that the characters know certain things. Valgora provides players with a vast array of concepts to run with. Generally, you should know what part of Valgora you wish to start your campaign in. The adventuring party should have a home within reasonable distance to the starting area (Starting at level one but saying you've already traveled the entire globe seems odd). Read up on the lands of Valgora and decide where you wish to have your setting begin.

Begin by explaining the general basic of Valgora to your players. If a player asks about what setting the campaign is in, you can tell him/her something along the lines of "This game is running in Valgora. A typical medieval fantasy setting with a strong roleplaying emphasis. You'll be starting in [your starting region here - for example: Talara], a peaceful island City-State with strong ties to the shipping industry." This allows your player to get a vague idea of where they are playing and allow them to begin a character concept, while not giving away any plot details. This small amount of information may allow a player to come up with a backstory ("My character is a lower-class son of a dock worker, looking to do more with his life than his father"), and get the gears of the character creation process moving.

Decide how you intend for your characters to meet. Maybe they were all drafted or of age to join the local militia or guard and meet at boot camp. Perhaps they are all University Students sharing the same Dorm. Even a seemingly coincidentally timed Tavern visit can bring PCs face to face for the first time.

As DM, there is an amazingly large amount of knowledge that no one person can remember that you're expected to know. Sometimes, small setting-specific questions arise from your players ("How cold is it out here during this season?" or "Who is the cute barmaid"). Sometimes just a quick on-spot impromptu answer can settle these questions, yet on other occasions you can provide a more in-depth world by expanding upon the information provided to the player's about the world they live in.

Provide your characters with the regional names of the days of the week or the month (The Valgoran Calendar is the same as earth's, just different names. Remember this and your life will be easy.) With a good enough knowledge (local) check, tell your players the history of Costea Musat, the shaman head of state for the Ghikvan state of Quaristan. Use the categorized information below to help you in this deed:

Knowing whose in charge can help player's get a grasp of their surroundings (and try to climb the social ladder a bit). Below is a chart of the regional leaders and local legends and what your player's know about them depending on their Knowledge (local) check.

The climate experiences of your players depend on their location in the Valgoran world. The chart below gives the typical expectations for the weather when traveling in certain regions during each season.

Knowing what race is more predominant can decide your party's travel plans (its never a good idea for comrades to lead their friendly ranger into a country filled with his favored enemy). Below is a chart of racial demographics by Country. Once again, make your players roll a knowledge (local) check so that they earn the information.